We continue our conversation as we sit down on a large rock in the vicinity.


'Did you have any dreams for the future, Julia?'
'Well my father was an anti-magician, so I've always wanted to be the same anti-magician as him.


　Father. He may not be my father by blood now, but I still consider him to be my real father. He was the one who influenced me so much, because he was the only one.


''I see. So Yulia-san has always been an admirable person.''
'No it wasn't. What about Princess Leanne?
My dream is to be a baker.
What?
Hmmm... are you surprised?
That's, well, yes.


　She smiled and tried to look into my face with a smile. There was something mischievous there, and I could see that I was doing just that in her expression.


　Still, I was surprised. I didn't know that that was what she wanted to do in the future. It's not that I'm making light of it. Childhood dreams vary from person to person, but from the current Princess Liane, it was completely unimaginable. She had always assumed that she was trying to fulfill her duties as royalty.


'I thought the cakes I ate when I was a little girl were very good. At that time, sweet and other products were finally being mass-produced, and cakes and other products were born. When I ate it, I thought to myself, 'I'll never stop making this. I definitely want to work in the business of making these things.... Of course, when I told my mother about it, she gently persuaded me to do so. But my dream has not changed. But I haven't decided whether I want to run a business selling cakes or be a patissier who bakes cakes...
....
Julia-san. Your mouth is free.
'Ha!　Oh, um....sorry, I'm sorry....I didn't expect that...
"Surprised?
With all due respect, I've always thought that Princess Liane was more concerned with the mission of the royal family, even at an early age.
'Hmm. I hope so, but after all, sweetness is what women like. That means I was an ordinary woman too.
Are you a normal woman?
'Oh?　Do you have any objections?
Well it's, well it's not exactly normal.
Isn't that true, Julia?
Ha, that must be it.


　We, who are special beings, a saint and a demon, exchange such light words with each other. When we first met, I thought she was a mystical being who transcended humanity because of her beauty and her behavior. This perception has never changed, but when I talked to her again, I realized that Princess Liane is a woman of her age. If she were to start such a business, she would surely make a lot of money.

　After all, Princess Liane is very popular. Although the existence of royalty, especially in terms of looks, is not well known to the city people, there are not a few opportunities to meet them when it comes to the military. In such a situation, Princess Liane's popularity in the military is tremendous. She is friendly to everyone and speaks kindly to even a mere soldier. It's not just her appearance, but her personality is also a factor in her popularity.


That I want to live like a normal person. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to think about cake all hours of the day?
Is that so?
'Yes, sir!　It's so wonderful!
Well ... well ... isn't it?
Oops. I'm sorry. I just got carried away.
... ha ha ha.
So, on the other hand, what about you, Miss Julia?
What do you mean?
It's about the world beyond the twilight.
'The world beyond... I can't imagine it, not at all... Maybe this strategy will work and people will reach the end of the twilight. But it might fail again and they might end up holed up in the warded city for hundreds of years. I don't know what the future holds for me. There is nothing I want to do in the future. But if such a world will come in my lifetime, then yes I would like to travel........
Are you traveling?
Yes, sir.
Where are you going?
I don't know where to go.
Is it called a journey?　Isn't it only possible to have a purpose?
...to find yourself, I guess.

'Eh ... is that so?　I think I'm a supremely straight-thinking person, but...
Well, that's a bias, isn't it?
Surprisingly, you're going to chop it up...
You can't have any of us, can you?
I'm trying to be careful, though.
'Oh my God!　Really!
What's wrong with your dramatic voice and facial expressions?
Couldn't you be a performer?
'That's a bit of a stickler. But everything is a practice, practice.
Hmm, Yulia-san is getting pretty good at this too.
'To tell you the truth, I no longer feel like a girl my age. Was that rude?
'That's not true. I don't have a lot of people with whom I can have honest conversations. And I've never had a conversation like this with a boy of my age, so it's refreshing.


　He smiles again and tells this story. After listening to the story further, it seems that he has never had any friends his own age around him all his life. Growing up among adults, and being aware of people's bad intentions from an early age, it is said that she was always aware of people's malice. It is said that there was no end to the number of aristocratic adults who approached her with calculations. It was through these circumstances that she learned the art of living and other skills, and also came to know more about this world. The adults had been telling her what to do about Dusk all along. And her mother, the Queen, was said to have been busy all the time. As a mother of a person, there is roughly no such thing as motherly behavior. And yet, she said, she respected such a mother.


　A mother who dedicates herself to the cause of humanity. Maintaining the ward and running the ward city. There are too many things to do, but the queen has still managed to do them. Seeing her like that, she naturally recognized what she needed to do as royalty.


　But not all royalty is like that. I told her what had happened before.


'I heard that you and the Second Princess Grete don't get along very well with each other.
''........Oh. It's correct to say that Grete-sama is not a bad friend, but rather that her sister is the enemy of me. To put it simply, jealousy. Besides, since I awakened as a saint, I haven't heard a single word from her.
He asked me to join him before the mission.
''Huh........You're still doing that, huh? It's well known that you're telling the special class anti-magicians to join your camp. Most of all, though, there is no such person. The only people around your sister are dirty adults who are blinded by power. Perhaps they are in a hurry because I am likely to awaken as a saint and become the next queen. He is truly a fool. It's hard to believe that we have the same blood in our veins.
Should we leave it alone?
''In the meantime, our mother seems to be suppressing a lot of things.......I don't know. But to bring the topic of the succession to the throne to Yulia-san at a time like this, you should apologize on behalf of your sister...
No, no!　No, sir!　Princess Riane has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
Yeah. Well, then, I hope...



　After that we continued to chat. We talked about what we liked and what we didn't like, and all sorts of things. Finally, she made an unexpected suggestion.


''Hey, Yulia-san. Why don't we call you by your name when it's just the two of us?
It's just...
'Just when we're alone, that's all. Can't I?
Uh ... wow, okay, Liane. Hey, is this okay?
Yes. Keep up the good work, Julia.


　He's a cunning man in many ways I think, but I felt good about it somehow.